The study was based on an evaluation of student performance on the UtahCriterion-Referenced Test (CRT) during the 2006 school year, in which 30,000students in Grades 1-6 from the Granite School District participated. Theresearch showed that student participation and performance in the YearlyProgressPro program was associated with higher performance on the state test.

"Yearly ProgressPro has really helped our students achieve Adequate YearlyProgress and given teachers the tools they need to drill down on concepts toanalyze the data. The instructional modules then allow teachers toindividually remediate or accelerate student learning. It's been phenomenal,"said Karen Sterling, Associate Director of School Services, Granite SchoolDistrict. "The ability of Yearly ProgressPro to be aligned to each state'scurriculum is unique and powerful. Our students are learning and retainingmore information because they are being assessed with Yearly ProgressPro onthe same curriculum they face on the state assessment."

The white paper, "Examining the Relationship Between Yearly ProgressProCurriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) and Student Results on the Utah CriterionReferenced Tests (CRTs)," was created to investigate the relationship betweenstudent performance on Yearly ProgressPro CBMs and the Utah CRT. Positivecorrelations between performance on Yearly ProgressPro CBMs and performance onthe Utah CRT support the use of Yearly ProgressPro CBMs as an early indicatorof subsequent performance on the state assessments. In addition, students whotook Yearly ProgressPro had higher average CRT scores than students who didnot take Yearly ProgressPro. Thus, the Yearly ProgressPro CBM assessments mayprovide not only useful practice and additional instructional activities, butalso may be useful assessments to support instructional practice inpreparation for the state CRT. A copy of the white paper is available athttp://www.ctb.com/media/mktg/ypp/other_media/YPP_Granite_study_vE_sg.pdf.

"This study demonstrates that research-based assessment and interventionprograms can make meaningful, measurable improvements in student achievement,"said Ellen Haley, president of CTB/McGraw-Hill. "Yearly ProgressPro is aclassroom tool that gives teachers specific, frequent feedback on studentprogress, and enables focused, on-the-spot intervention to enhance studentperformance on state-level assessments."

Yearly ProgressPro is an online progress monitoring system built on 25years of research in CBM methodology, proven to be a highly effective methodfor improving student learning. CBM continually assesses mastery across thecurriculum during the year to measure not only progress, but also knowledgeretention and skills over time. Yearly ProgressPro helps administrators andteachers track Adequate Yearly Progress, a key component of federalaccountability legislation. Yearly ProgressPro was also a winner in theSoftware & Information Industry Association's 20th Annual Codie Awards for thebest elementary education instructional solution for Mathematics, and afinalist for best secondary education instructional solution for Mathematics.

A powerful component in many school districts' Response to Interventionprograms, Yearly ProgressPro is uniquely suited for Tier 2 and Tier 3progress-monitoring interventions. For more information about Response toIntervention solutions, go to http://www.CTB.com/RTI.

Yearly ProgressPro provides educators with the classroom tools they need,all linked to an easy-to-understand data management system that allows them totrack trends in student performance:

-- Assessments -- Curriculum-Based Measurement assessments, providingdetailed diagnostic information on students' academic progress on a definedset of skills, and Classroom Assessments, a simple-to-use assessment creatorwhich gives educators the ability to quickly and easily create customizedassessments.

-- Instructional Resources -- instructional exercises for each of theskills assessed, consisting of a set of instructional screens that introduceor explain a given skill, a guided practice set where students can walkthrough problems with assistance, and a unique set of problems to review andevaluate students' progress on a given skill.

-- Reports and Analysis -- a comprehensive data management system allowingeducators to trend and track student performance in real time. The systemmeasures individual students' skill strengths and weaknesses and can trackwhole class performance on specific skills or skill groupings.

Additional features include automated recommendations and assignments thatsupport instructional focus, and reporting tools that generate reports byskill, student, class, district, and student demographics. For moreinformation about Yearly ProgressPro, go tohttp://www.CTB.com/YearlyProgressPro.

About CTB/McGraw-Hill

As the nation's leading publisher of standardized and standards-basedachievement tests for pre-school, elementary, middle, high school, and adulteducation, CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC offers a broad range of assessments, softwareand services. CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC is part of the Assessment and Reportinggroup of McGraw-Hill Education (MHE), a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies(NYSE: MHP). MHE is a leading global provider of print and digitalinstructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionalsand students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countriesand publishes in more than 60 languages. Additional information is availableat http://www.CTB.com.

Media Inquiries Kelley Carpenter Director, Communications (831) 393-7196 kelley_carpenter@mcgraw-hill.comSOURCE CTB/McGraw-Hill